NCAA's waiver comes too late to allow Louisville men's basketball team to make it to New Orleans

Apr. 9, 2013

Louisville head coach Rick Pitino and Louisville guard Peyton Siva (3) reacts after Louisville defeated Michigan during the second half of the NCAA Final Four tournament college basketball championship game Monday, April 8, 2013, in Atlanta. Louisville won 82-76.(AP Photo/David J. Phillip) / AP

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ATLANTA — The players of the national champion University of Louisville men’s basketball team would like to be in New Orleans tonight to cheer on the U of L women in their own national title game against Connecticut, but coach Rick Pitino said Monday night that the NCAA said such a trip is a no-go as it would be ruled an improper benefit to the men’s players to receive such a trip.

The NCAA said it granted a waiver to Louisville early Tuesday so that would have allowed the school to play, but school officials said they had already made plans.

The players were expected back in Louisville about 2:15 p.m. Pitino and athletic director Tom Jurich will be in New Orleans for the women’s game.

“They all wanted to go to the women’s game,” Pitino said. “If we could ever win two championships, men’s and women’s, it would absolutely be awesome.”

UConn, in 2004, is the only school to have had both basketball teams win national championships in the same year.

Several U of L men’s players said this week that they are big fans of the women’s team, friends with the players and attended every home game they could make when their own schedule didn’t conflict.

“I was just texting someone saying that our women are going to win the championship,” U of L walk-on guard Michael Baffour said Sunday before the women’s team knocked off California to advance to the title game. “They’ve beaten a lot of great teams. … I feel like the run they’re on is really great. Nobody expected them to beat (top-ranked) Baylor (in the Sweet 16), and it was one of the craziest upsets I’ve seen, men or women.”